Advanced chitosan-based materials: synthesis, properties, processing and applications

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The need to exploit novel ecological materials becomes essential as polymers not relying on petroleum resources are sought for, and as environmental concerns related to waste management becomes an issue. Marine by-products such as crab and shrimp shells are abandoned along the processing route. These shells consist of chitin, proteins and calcium carbonate as the main structural components, chitin being the most abundant organic material after cellulose. Chitin and its main industrial derivative, chitosan, constitute the principal biopolymers from marine feedstock available today and yet, their potential in terms of value-added products has not been exploited to fullness. Their use remains challenging to the scientific community and the industry due to a lack of understanding of the fundamental mechanisms dictating their behavior in different physical states and processes. This is mainly due to the large polydispersity in chain size and chemical composition intrinsic to natural polymers, in opposition to their synthetic counterparts.